Norse mythology
Old Norse religion developed from early Germanic religion during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the Germanic peoples. It was displaced by Christianization of the North Germanic peoples. Scholars reconstruct aspects of North Germanic religion by historical linguistics, archaeology, toponymy, and records left by North Germanic peoples, such as runic inscriptions in the Younger Futhark, a distinctly North Germanic extension of the runic alphabet. Numerous Old Norse works dated to the 13th century record Norse mythology, a component of North Germanic religion. Old Norse religion was polytheistic, entailing a belief in various gods and goddesses. Norse mythology divided these deities into two groups, the Æsir and the Vanir, who engaged in an ancient war until realising that they were equally powerful. Among the most widespread deities were the gods Oðinn and Thor. This world was inhabited also by various other mythological races, including giants, dwarfs, elves, and land-spirits. Norse cosmology revolved around a world tree known as Yggdrasil, with various realms existing alongside that of humans, named Midgard. These include multiple afterlife realms, several of which are controlled by a particular deity. Transmitted through oral culture rather than through codified texts, Old Norse religion focused heavily on ritual practice, with kings and chiefs playing a central role in carrying out public acts of sacrifice. Various cultic spaces were used; initially, outdoor spaces such as groves and lakes were typically selected, but by the third century CE cult houses were also purpose built for ritual activity. Norse society also contained practitioners of Seiðr, a form of sorcery which some scholars describe as shamanistic. Various forms of burial were conducted, including both inhumation and cremation, typically accompanied by a variety of grave goods. There is difficulty in terms of finding how how much of what we know about norse mythology is actually true to the original. This is because our only written sources on it come from long after christianization and after they were stopped being believed in as literal stories. Various influences are suspected to be due to christianization, such as loki being depicted more like a lucifer figure, the events of ragnarok, and balder's ressurction, or the divide between light and dark elves. However, it is not entirely known what the influences are. Norse myths and religion are tied somewhat to the games, since the main gods, odin, thor and loki are recurring characters, as well as surt. Practices Cult practices often took place outdoors, and often involved sacrifices. For example at Hove in Trøndelag, Norway, offerings were placed at a row of posts bearing images of gods. Terms particularly associated with outdoor worship are vé (shrine) and hörgr (cairn or stone altar). Many place-names contain these elements in association with the name of a deity. There is no evidence of a professional priesthood among the Norse, and rather cultic activities were carried out by members of the community who also had other social functions and positions. In Old Norse society, religious authority was harnessed to secular authority; there was no separation between economic, political, and symbolic institutions. Cosmology Ginnungagap is the primal void that existed before anything else was created. It was a void not in the sense of emptiness, but of unformed chaos. In the northern part of Ginnungagap lay the intense cold of Niflheim, and in the southern part lay the equally intense heat of Muspelheim. The cosmogonic process began when the effulgence of the two met in the middle of Ginnungagap. From this emerged the first cow, from which emerged the first primal giant. Yggdrasil. The cosmology of the worlds in which all beings inhabit—nine in total—centers around a cosmological tree, Yggdrasil. The gods inhabit the heavenly realm of Asgard whereas humanity inhabits Midgard, a region in the center of the cosmos. Outside of the gods, humanity, and the jötnar, these Nine Worlds are inhabited by beings, such as elves and dwarfs. Travel between the worlds is frequently recounted in the myths, where the gods and other beings may interact directly with humanity. Numerous creatures live on Yggdrasil, such as the insulting messenger squirrel Ratatoskr and the perching hawk Veðrfölnir. The tree itself has three major roots, and at the base of one of these roots live a trio of norns. Elements of the cosmos are personified, such as the Sun (Sól, a goddess), the Moon (Máni, a god), and Earth (Jörð, a goddess), as well as units of time, such as day (Dagr, a god) and night (Nótt, a jötunn). The afterlife is a complex matter in Norse mythology. The dead may go to the murky realm of Hel—a realm ruled over by a female being of the same name, may be ferried away by valkyries to Odin's martial hall Valhalla, or may be chosen by the goddess Freyja to dwell in her field Fólkvangr. The goddess Rán may claim those that die at sea, and the goddess Gefjon is said to be attended by virgins upon their death. Texts also make reference to reincarnation. Time itself is presented between cyclic and linear, and some scholars have argued that cyclic time was the original format for the mythology. Various forms of a cosmological creation story are provided in Icelandic sources, and references to a future destruction and rebirth of the world—Ragnarok—are frequently mentioned in some texts. Rather than being a name for a location, yggdrasil is a demon in-game, who most notably appears in strange journey in a side mission where norns help you time travel to the past to help defeat it, protecting your past self from it. However, when you fight it, they say it is one of its roots, which implies you are not fighting the entire tree. And that it turned wild due to human energies flowing into the schwarzwelt. Midgard “middle earth” is located in the middle of the world, below Asgard. Midgard and Asgard is connected by Bifrost the Rainbow Bridge. Midgard is surrounded by a huge ocean that is impassable. The Ocean is occupied by a huge sea serpent, the Midgard Serpent (jormungandr). The Midgard serpent is so huge that it encircles the world entirely, and biting its own tail. Odin and his two brothers Vili and Ve, created the humans from an Ash log, the man and from an elm log, the woman. Asgard is one of the Nine Worlds and home to the Æsir tribe of gods. It is in the middle of the world, high up in the sky. It is surrounded by an incomplete wall. The sons of Bor constructed Asgard as a home for the Æsir, who were divinities, and who it is named after. In Asgard also is a temple for the 12 gods, Gladsheim, and another for the 12 goddesses, Vingólf. The plain of Idavoll is the centre of Asgard. At its gate is the bifrost, which is a burning rainbow bridge that reaches between Midgard (Earth) and Asgard, the realm of the gods. In smtiv, odin mentions asgard as his realm, and offers the warriors who helped him regain his memories the offer to come to there in valhalla on their deaths. In strange journey the norns you speak to talk about returning to asgard to monitor yggdrasil's main trunk after you beat the mission involving them. Valhalla (from Old Norse Valhöll "hall of the slain") is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those who die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field Fólkvangr. In Valhalla, the dead join the masses of those who have died in combat known as Einherjar and various legendary Germanic heroes and kings, as they prepare to aid Odin during the events of Ragnarök. Before the hall stands the golden tree Glasir, and the hall's ceiling is thatched with golden shields. The dead who reside in Valhalla, the einherjar, live a life that would have been the envy of any Viking warrior. All day long, they fight one another, doing countless valorous deeds along the way. But every evening, all their wounds are healed, and they are restored to full health. At night they have a feast while being waited on by Valkyries. In SMTII valhalla shows up as a human district filled with strife and violence. Interestingly, while the concept of valhalla sounds chaotic in tone, and the in-game valhalla comes off very chaotic, it is treated more like a neutral district due to the ambiguity in-game. Nonetheless, relative to the more orderly holytown it is depicted as representative of the warrior ideal revolving around this violence and indulgence. Giving context for it as a place that lacks an orientation to peace. In iva, odin when fighting you at first mentions valhalla, asking if you will be worthy of it. But little mention is made past there. In SMTIV, he offers for those who helped him regain his memory by fighting the offer to live there. In MTI, loki's area is referred to as valhalla. Folkvangr is a meadow or field ruled over by the goddess Freyja within asgard, where half of those that die in combat go upon death, while the other half go to the god Odin in Valhalla. When she goes into battle she is said to bring many of them along with her. Thrudvang '''is/are a field/fields where the god Thor resides within asgard. In it is said to be the largest building ever constructed. '''Helheim. In Norse mythology, Hel (or Helheim), the location, shares a name with Hel, a female figure associated with the location. In late Icelandic sources, varying descriptions of Hel are given and various figures are described as being buried with items that will facilitate their journey to Hel after their death. In the Poetic Edda, Brynhildr's trip to Hel after her death is described and Odin, while alive, also visits Hel upon his horse Sleipnir. In Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, Baldr goes to Hel on his death and subsequently Hermóðr uses Sleipnir to attempt to retrieve him. It is a grim and cold place, not implied to be very happy, and which the dead who reside within will be used by the godess hel to attack the gods at the end of the world. Helheim is located within niflheim. Hel is listed as existing beneath one of the three roots of the world tree Yggdrasil. One of the other two leads to the frost jötnar and the third to Mankind. Niflheim is the darkest and coldest region in the world according to Norse mythology. Niflheim is the first of the nine worlds and Niflheim is placed in the northern region of Ginnungagap. It is the land of ice, in which all water ultimately derives. All life also was said to derive from here. It is the home of the ice giants. It shows up in-game as the name of one of the best ice spells. And in demikids as an area. Muspelheim was created far to the south of the world in Norse mythology. Muspelheim is a burning hot place, filled with lava, flames, sparks and soot. Muspelheim is the home the of fire giants, fire demons and ruled by the giant Surtr. He is a sworn enemy of the Aesir. Surtr will ride out with his flaming sword in his hand at Ragnarök “the end of the world” Surtr will then attack Asgard, “the home of the Gods” and turn it into a flaming inferno. It shows as the name of a demon, implied to be a name used for the demons from within. Jotunheim is the home of the giants (also called Jotuns). They are the sworn enemies of the Aesir. Jotunheim consist mostly of rocks, wilderness and dense forests, so the giants lives from the fish in the rivers, and the animals in the forest, because there is no fertile land in Jotunheim. The whole world was created from the corpse of the first giant, named Ymir. It was Odin and his brothers Vili and Ve, who killed Ymir. Vanaheim is the home of the Vanir Gods. The Vanir Gods is an old branch of Gods. The Vanir are masters of sorcery and magic. They are also widely acknowledged for their talent to predict the future. Nobody knows where exactly the land, Vanaheim i located, or even how it looks like. When the war between the Aesir and the Vanir ended, three of the Vanir came to live in Asgard, Njord and his children Freya and Freyr Alfheim is right next to Asgard in the heaven. The light elves are beautiful creatures. They are considered in a sense the “guardian angels” of The God Freyr, who is the ruler of Alfheim. The Light elves are minor Gods of nature and fertility; they can help or hinder humans with their knowledge of magical powers. They also often delivered an inspiration to art or music. Svartalfheim is the home of the dwarves, they live under the rocks, in caves and underground. Hreidmar was the king of Svartalfheim, Svartalfheim means Dark fields. The dwarves are masters of craftsmanship. The Gods of Asgard have received many powerful gifts. Like Thor’s hammer, the magical ring Draupnir and also Gungnir, Odin’s spear. Types of beings Aesir is a name for members of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Týr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage the Æsir–Vanir War, which results in a unified pantheon. Sometimes the female gods are instead called Asynjur. The interaction between the Æsir and the Vanir has provoked an amount of scholarly theory and speculation. While other cultures have had "elder" and "younger" families of gods, as with the Titans versus the Olympians of ancient Greece, the Æsir and Vanir were portrayed as contemporaries. The two clans of gods fought battles, concluded treaties, and exchanged hostages (Freyr and Freyja are mentioned as hostages). Interestingly, the wors aesir comes from the same root as asura, which are the dharmic violent gods. Vanir. the Vanir are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, nature, magic, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods and are the namesake of the location Vanaheimr. After the Æsir–Vanir War, the Vanir became a subgroup of the Æsir. Subsequently, members of the Vanir are sometimes also referred to as members of the Æsir. Einherjer are those who have died in battle and are brought to Valhalla by valkyries. In Valhalla, the einherjar eat their fill of the nightly-resurrecting beast Sæhrímnir, and are brought their fill of mead (from the udder of the goat Heiðrún) by valkyries. The einherjar prepare daily for the events of Ragnarök Jötunn (plural jötnar) is a type of entity contrasted with gods and other figures, such as dwarfs and elves. The entities are themselves ambiguously defined, variously referred to by a several other terms, including risi, thurs, and troll. They ate often referred to as giants in english. They can come in fire, ice, or neutral versions. In a few of the games, there is a demon named muspell, presumably meant to be jotunn from muspellheim, thus being fire giants. As such, surt would be their ruler. It also shows up as a magatama in nocturne. Elves are a certain kind of demigod-like being. The elves are luminous beings, “more beautiful than the sun,” whose exalted status is demonstrated by their constantly being linked with the Aesir and Vanir gods in Old Norse and Old English poetry. Note that norse myths are the origin of elves. The lines between elves and other spiritual beings such as the gods, giants, dwarves, and land spirits are blurry, and it seems unlikely that the heathen Germanic peoples themselves made any cold, systematic distinctions between these various groupings. It’s especially hard to discern the boundary that distinguishes the elves from the Vanir gods and goddesses. The Vanir god Freyr is the lord of the elves’ homeland, Alfheim, and at least one Old Norse poem repeatedly uses the word “elves” to designate the Vanir. Still, other sources do speak of the elves and the Vanir as being distinct categories of beings, such that a simple identification of the two would be misguided. (note how in lord of the rings, the elves have a closer relation to the gods than humans do). The major division between elves is the Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar for dark elf and light elf. the former dwell within the earth and are most swarthy, while the latter live in Álfheimr, and are "fairer than the sun to look at". Some historians suggest that this division was influenced by christian concepts of fallen angels, due to elves' similarities to angels, and was not part of the original myths. In megaten, the elf shows up in the fairy race as a neutral demon. This being likely because the european concept of fairies was basically the irish gods myths being downgraded to spirits and mixed with norse concepts of elves and dwarves. Interestingly, dark elf shows up as a seperate demon in-game. Like the regular elf however, it tends to show up also in the fairy race, and as the same alignment. Dwarves are a certain kind of invisible being in the pre-Christian mythology and religion of the Norse and other Germanic peoples. No one really knows what the word “dwarf” and its cognates originally meant, but there’s no indication that it had anything to do with a small stature, a characteristic which is never mentioned in ancient descriptions of these beings. Note that norse myth is the origin of dwarves. Dvergar also shows up in-game as a seperate demon from dwarf, which is the norse name for dwarves. The dwarves are pitch-black in appearance and live underground in Svartalfheim, a place which was probably thought of as a labyrinthine complex of mines and forges. The dwarves are most often noted for being extremely skilled smiths and craftspeople. Among the many irreplaceable treasures created by them are: Mjöllnir, the hammer of Thor; Gleipnir, the chain that bound the wolf Fenrir when all other fetters failed; Skíðblaðnir, a ship which belongs to Freyr and always has a favorable wind; Gungnir, the spear of Odin; Draupnir, a ring owned by Odin; the Brísingamen, a magnificent necklace owned by Freya; and the long, golden hair of Sif, Thor’s wife. They’re also extremely knowledgeable, wise, and magically powerful. They turn to stone if exposed to the rays of the sun. Dwarves show up in a few games in side missions, and in synchronicity prologue as a shopkeeper. Usually as neutral jirae race. Valkyries are members of the host of female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. Selecting among half of those who die in battle (the other half go to the goddess Freyja's afterlife field Fólkvangr), the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin. There, the deceased warriors become einherjar (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"1). When the einherjar are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens and sometimes connected to swans or horses. They are often considered their own distinct type of being. Valkyries tend to show up as either neutral or law demons. Strangely, in iva you can get one by evolving a kelpie. Isabeau has one if you fight her on the chaos route in IV. Disir is a term for a type of spirit in norse myth, also used as a synonym for godess. Due to a lack of sources, It’s impossible to cleanly separate the Disir from other kinds of spiritual beings recognized by the ancient Germanic peoples. For example, the Valkyries, female helping-spirits of the god Odin, are referred to as “Odin’s Disir” (Herjans dísir) in one Old Norse poem. The Disir, like the Valkyries, are depicted as being at times warlike, and at other times nourishing and protective. In-game this ambiguity is referenced, with some games' compandiums referring to it as a generic term for a low ranking norse godess, or for an ambiguous group that includes both godesses and valkries. In strange journey a group of dis who later become norns send you back in time to help protect yourself from the yggdrasil as an enemy. Norns are three female divine beings who have more influence over the course of destiny than any other beings in the cosmos. They dwell within the Well of Urd beneath Yggdrasil, the great ash tree that stands at the center of the universe and holds the Nine Worlds in its branches and roots. They shape destiny by carving runes into the trunk of the tree, or, in some sagas and poems, by weaving destiny like a web or tapestry. One common misconception is that the destiny woven or carved by the Norns is final and unalterable, as in the Greek concept of fate. The Norse/Germanic model of destiny, however, is far more dynamic and volatile than this, and leaves room for their choices to be changed. While there may be only three Norns with a capital “N,” there are countless norns with a lowercase “n” – norn is an Old Norse word for a generic practitioner of magic.2 A fuller discussion of this view of destiny can be found here. Another common misconception is that they correspond to the past, present, and future in a linear conception of time. A more sensitive analysis shows that they correspond instead to past, present, and necessity in a cyclical conception of time. They usually show up as light law demons in game. their most notable appearance is in strange journey when they help you go back in time to fight against yggdrasil. Showing them as having some control over fate. Major figures Odin is the ruler of the aesir, and head god in norse mythology. He is associated with healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, battle, sorcery, poetry, frenzy, and the runic alphabet, and is the husband of the goddess Frigg. Odin sacrificed his eye at Mimir's spring in order to gain the Wisdom of Ages. In Old Norse texts, Odin is depicted as one-eyed and long-bearded, frequently wielding a spear named Gungnir, and wearing a cloak and a broad hat. He is often accompanied by his animal companions—the wolves Geri and Freki and the ravens Huginn and Muninn, who bring him information from all over Midgard—and rides the flying, eight-legged steed Sleipnir across the sky and into the underworld. Odin is attested as having many sons, most famously the gods Thor (with Jörð) and Baldr (with Frigg), and is known by hundreds of names. In these texts, he frequently seeks greater knowledge, at times in disguise (most famously by obtaining the Mead of Poetry), makes wagers with his wife Frigg over the outcome of exploits, and takes part in both the creation of the world by way of slaying the primordial being Ymir and the gift of life to the first two humans Ask and Embla. Odin has a particular association with Yule, and mankind's knowledge of both the runes and poetry is also attributed to him, giving Odin aspects of the culture hero. During the foretold events of Ragnarök, Odin is told to lead the einherjar into battle before being consumed by the monstrous wolf Fenrir. In later folklore, Odin appears as a leader of the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession of the dead through the winter sky. Odin appears several times in the games, usually as a neutral demon, though in SMTI he was depicted as law. In SMTIV Odin appears in the Challenge Quest, Save the Old Man. He has turned into an old human man and has lost his memories and wishes to tell a story to Flynn about the King of Heroes Wodan. Thor under a fake identity sends Flynn and two other hunters to fight before him to restore his memories and fights him. After the battle Odin halts the fight, revealing he has regained his memories and recovers his true form. He returns to Asgard alongside Thor, but promises that the humans who helped him they would be allowed to go to Valhalla after their deaths. A more major role of his is as one of the main figures in IVA working for the divine powers. In-game his plan is to make a new world where each god who is with them is govern power over an equal number of souls to construct a realm for them. He takes Dagda's betrayal of the other gods personally due to them having apparently been the same being at one point, which is consistent with how in real life it is suspected that they may have derived from one myth. He gives gaston the spear gungir on his death, respecting warriors being strong enough to defeat him. In addition to these roles, in SMTI, yhvh may be meant to be functioning as a kind of partial stand in figure for odin. Since while odin does appear as his own demon, thor shows up as a character who is working for the thousand year kingdom. The game treats yhvh as a composite figure who is also treated as a stand in for zeus, which might potentially imply the absorption of several myths. This would have a real world parallel in that attempts for christianization often involved comparison of norse figures to christian ones, with odin being compared to god the father. Thor is a hammer-wielding Æsir god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing and fertility. He was presented as the archetype of a loyal and honorable warrior, the ideal toward which the average human warrior aspired. He’s the indefatigable defender of the Aesir gods and their fortress, Asgard, from the encroachments of the giants, who are usually (although not invariably) the enemies of the gods. He had a goat drawn chariot and a hammer of thunder called Mjöllnir, which allowed him to battle giants with the power of lightning. Thor’s particular enemy is Jormungand, the enormous sea serpent who encircles Midgard, the world of human civilization. At one point in the mythical cycle, he tries to pull Jormungand out of the ocean while on a fishing trip, and is stopped only when his giant companion cuts the fishing line out of fear. Thor and Jormungand finally face each other during Ragnarok, however, when the two put an end to each other. His activities on the divine plane were mirrored by his activities on the human plane (Midgard), where he was appealed to by those in need of protection, comfort, and the blessing and hallowing of places, things, and events. He was often considered the foremost god of the common people in Scandinavia and the viking colonies. This role can be made clearer by contrasting Thor with the god who was virtually his functional opposite: Odin. Odin was the foremost deity appealed to by rulers, outcasts, and “elite” persons of every sort. Odin’s primary values are quite rarefied: ecstasy, knowledge, magical power, and creative agency. They stand in stark contrast to Thor’s more homely virtues. The Eddas and sagas portray the relationship between the two gods as being often uneasy as a result. At one point, Odin taunts Thor: “Odin’s are the nobles who fall in battle, but Thor’s are the thralls.” Due to demographic shifts and expansion on lore thor became considered a more prominent god than odin for worship later on, whereas originally odin had more focus. His first appearance is as the first law representative in the series. He appears as a human named thorman, who requests the aid of the protagonist in defeating Gotou to prevent the demons from overrunning the Earth. Later in the story, he reveals himself to be the demon Thor, an agent of YHVH dedicated to the ideal of the Thousand Year Kingdom. He was sent to Earth after discovering that Gotou discovered a way of summoning demons from the Expanse to the human's realm and was tasked with stopping him, ultimately dropping nukes on japan in an attempt to prevent their spread. This characterization is interesting, since in SMTI law had more of a tone of being a wider scale pantheon with yhvh functioning as an all around father god. Angels took less prominance for it than they do in some later games, and in which violent deities like thor tend not to be associated with it. As such, thor tends to be either neutral or chaos in later games. In nocturne, Thor is found in Ikebukuro as a member of the Mantra Army. He is first seen when he knocks Isamu Nitta unconscious with his hammer. He locks both Isamu and the Demi-fiend up, and they must prove their strength to become free. Thor is defeated by the Demi-fiend and allowed free. After the Nightmare System destroys the Mantra Army, Thor admits that their fear-based society had no hope of creating a new world. He later sides with the angels. Interestingly, in nocturne thor and angels were working together similar as to SMTI, except in nocturne they are on a chaos analogue side instead of following lawful ideology. Past this, he also has a side mission in SMTIV where he restores the memories of odin. Loki is a trickster god in norse mythology, associated with various forms of mischief and chaos. Loki's relation with the gods varies by source; Loki sometimes assists the gods and sometimes behaves in a malicious manner towards them. Loki is a shape shifter and in separate incidents he appears in the form of a salmon, a mare, a fly, and possibly an elderly woman named Þökk (Old Norse 'thanks'). Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Narfi and/or Nari. By the stallion Svaðilfari, Loki is the mother—giving birth in the form of a mare—to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. Loki's positive relations with the gods end with his role in engineering the death of the god Baldr and Loki is eventually bound by Váli with the entrails of one of his sons. In both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, the goddess Skaði is responsible for placing a serpent above him while he is bound. The serpent drips venom from above him that Sigyn collects into a bowl; however, she must empty the bowl when it is full, and the venom that drips in the meantime causes Loki to writhe in pain, thereby causing earthquakes. With the onset of Ragnarök, Loki is foretold to slip free from his bonds and to fight against the gods among the forces of the jötnar, at which time he will encounter the god Heimdallr and the two will slay each other. Some consider that his original myths were more positive, but that depicting him as an evil figure came from christian influence. Loki, was actually the first villain in the series, being the villain of the book everything was based on. Loki serves as the main antagonist of Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei. Akemi Nakajima summons Loki and has him get revenge on several students at Jusho High School. Loki seizes control of several students' bodies and murders the students that Nakajima wanted revenge on. Loki eventually ends up at odds with him, breaking free, leading nakajima to need to stop him, and realizing that he should not have summoned him. He is again seen in the third book or first game, where he is resurrected by lucifer in order to help take over earth. In SMTI he strangely shows up as a law demon, with in an interview them saying that in that game he might work for the law side, but being willing to use cunning and trickery to advance its goals. But II he is however on the chaos side. He also shows up as an npc in nocturne who gets drunk in a bar regularly. In SMTIV Loki appears in the Challenge Quest, Punishing the Trickerster. He has retreated to the world of Infernal Tokyo and set up a Domain over Miyashita Park, loving how chaotic the world is. Seeing Flynn, he tells him to scram since he's in a good mood or he will tear him apart. Realizing the aesir, specifically Heimdall, sent Flynn angers him, leading to Loki cursing Heimdall for his persistence. He reveals he planned on relaxing for one hundred or more years, but since he has been tracked down he'll show Heimdall what he's fully capable of and start a war. Loki is shocked that he is defeated by a human and decides to forget his plans for a war. However, he enjoyed the fight against Flynn and didn't expect any surprises in the current world. He admits that surprises like a defeat at human hands is one reason why he could never quit being a god. Loki then laughs as he disappears and the domain vanishes. In IVA, Loki appears as a boss in the quest Pursue Hunter Hunters, where he tricked a group of Dormarths into believing he's a part of the Divine Powers. He reveals after killing the last one that it was a lie and he hated the Powers and wished to prevent them from getting the souls they desire. He decides to play with Nanashi in a battle and upon defeat hopes to one day fight him again in a joyful match when the world is set aflame, dying afterwards. In devil survivor, Loki disguises himself as an unnamed human being, known only as Gigolo by the in-game dialogue boxes. He is voiced by Vic Mignogna in the English version of Overclocked. Gigolo's knowledge of the history of the demon world has helped the protagonist from time to time, most notably hinting towards the location of the Devil's Fuge so that the protagonist can defeat Beldr. This parralel's loki's real myth of giving someone devil's fuge which leads to balder's death. Loki later shows up, and is fought on various routes. Finally, in persona 5 he shows up as the true persona of goro, representing his ambiguous nature as well as betrayal. Baldr is a god from Norse myth. In the legend, Baldr and his mother had a dream of his death. Since dreams were said to be prophetic, this depressed him, so his mother Frigg made every object on Earth vow never to hurt Baldr. All objects made this vow except mistletoe. Frigg had thought it too unimportant and nonthreatening to bother asking it to make the vow (alternatively, it seemed too young to swear). When Loki, the mischief-maker, heard of this, he made a magical spear from this plant (in some later versions, an arrow). He hurried to the place where the gods were indulging in their new pastime of hurling objects at Baldr, which would bounce off without harming him. Loki gave the spear to Baldr's brother, the blind god Höðr, who then inadvertently killed his brother with it. Later, after Ragnarok, he would return from Hel, along with Höðr, and live happily together. Some consider that this last myth was a christian influence, paralleling the resurrection of Jesus. In devil survivor he is depicted as one of the bel demons, with his name changed to beldr to reflect this. He has a cult following, and is presented as invincible to everything except devil's fuge. Loki helps you get this in order to kill him. When encountering the party for the second time, due to being ressurected by babel along with the other bels to challenge the protagonist, Beldr says "you will all shed your tears for me." This refers to a part of his myth in which Hel promised to return Baldr to life, but only if everything in the world cried for Baldr. This was almost accomplished, but Þökk, a giantess, refused to cry for him, thus voiding the agreement. Þökk was believed to have been Loki in disguise. Heimdall is one of the gods in Norse Mythology, called the "White God" in the Edda. Heimdall is the guardian of the Bifrost Bridge, or the rainbow, and therefore the link between Midgard and Asgard. Legends foretell that he will sound the Gjallahorn, alerting the gods to the onset of Ragnarok, where the world ends and is reborn. Heimdall was destined to be the last of the gods to perish at Ragnarok when he and Loki would slay one another. Heimdall, as guardian, is described as being able to hear grass growing and single leaves falling, able to see the end of the world, and so alert that he requires no sleep at all. Heimdall is described as a son of Odin, perhaps a foster son. In-game he shows up as a neutral demon. Hel is Loki's daughter and sister to the wolf Fenrir and serpent Jörmungandr and presides in the realm with the same name (the underworld). She was appointed by Odin to be the ruler of Hel (the location). Her appearance is described as half-black and half-flesh colored, and also has a gloomy, downcast appearance. She played a big role in the attempt to resurrect Baldr. The phrase "Go to Hell" actually originated from "Go to Hel" meaning the same thing, which is "go die," since Hel was the name for both the ruler of the underworld as well as the name of the underworld. She is said to be the only one capable of controlling the dragon Nidhoggr. Tyr is the god of single combat, victory and heroic glory in Norse mythology, portrayed as a one-handed man. Some lore depicts him as the son of odin, but this is not consistent. In the late Icelandic Eddas, Tyr is portrayed, alternately, as the son of Odin (Prose Edda) or of Hymir (Poetic Edda), while the origins of his name and his possible relationship to Tuisto he was once considered the father of the gods and head of the pantheon, since his name is ultimately cognate to that of Dyeus, the reconstructed chief deity in Indo-European religion. It is assumed that Tyr was overtaken in popularity and in authority by both Odin and Thor at some point during the Migration Age. He shows up in several games as kishin race. Vidofnir is a rooster that sits atop of Mimameith, a tree which may be a synonym to Yggdrasil, or which at any rate is not otherwise mentioned. in Norse Mythology. He is golden in color, and shines like thunderstorms; being essentially immortal, he watches over the integrity of the human world, along with being the symbol for sun and fire. Him crowing at dawn signifies the victory of light over darkness and vigilance, therefore making him a symbol of a "returning life," and the Germans consider him a spiritual guide. In-game he appears as a yellow bird of the avian race. Some lore depicts him as meant to be a rooster. Surt rules the land of fire, Muspelheim, guarding the entrance of this realm with his shining sword, Laevateinn, that is said to be brighter than the sun. It is also said to be the creator and the destroyer, as the fires of his realm created the stars of the heavens, and later during Ragnarok, it will rain down fire unto all land. He is generally chaos aligned and tyrant race. Surt shows up a surprising amount of times in-game. In SMTI, Along with Astaroth and Arioch, Surt is one of the three major sub-bosses of the last arc of the game and one of the most powerful demons that has taken control over the inferior part of the Basilica. Note how since thor is on the side of law, this gives the events in SMTI a tone based on ragnarok also. In nocturne, he also shows up working under nihilo. And in strange journey, he also appears as the first sub-boss of Sector Horologium in Law Path, destroying the elevator to Horologium B9F. Also, he appears in the EX Mission, The Wise Man's Library V, holding half of the last Book of Thoth. Garm is a hellhound who guards Hel, the realm of the dead. His howling is one of the signs of the impending apocalypse, Ragnarok. He is a comparable figure to derberus. Hresvelgr. In Norse mythology, Hraesvelgr (meaning Corpse Swallower) is a giant who takes the form of a great eagle. According to the poem Vafþrúðnismál, the wind is a product of Hraesvelgr sitting at the end of the skies and beating his powerful wings when he takes flight. In-game it shows up as a white bird. Jormungandr. One of Loki's children. Jormungandr (also called the midgardsomr) was a snake that was so big that it would sleep on the bottom of the oceans across the whole world. Jormungandr attempts to destroy the gods during ragnarok. It shows up in a few games as chaos, but mainly demikids games. Skadi, alternatively referred as Öndurguð or Öndurdís (lit: Snowshoe goddess) is a jötunn, a giantess in Norse Mythology. Associated with skiing, the hunt and winter, she is the daughter of Thjazi, one-time wife of the god Njörður, and stepmother of Freyr and Freyja. in nocturne, Skadi appears one of the guardians guarding the flow of Magatsuhi to the center within the Amala Temple, in which Skadi represents the guardian of the Red Temple. The Demi-fiend is later requested by Isamu Nitta to liberate the three temples, thus allowing the large amount of Magatsuhi flow towards the center and allows Isamu to harvest it to summon his God of Reason. Fafnir was the son of the dwarf king Hreidmar and the brother of Regin and Ótr. It shows up as a dragon in-game. Siegfried is the dragon-slaying hero of the medieval German epic Das Nibelungenlied, most widely known due to its adaptation by Richard Wagner into a series of four operas, Der Ring des Nibelungen. The character of Siegfried and much of the plot of the medieval German epic originate from earlier Norse sagas, where the character is known as Sigurd. He shows up in famed race in several games. Fenrir is a monstrous wolf in Norse mythology. Fenrir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda and Heimskringla, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, Fenrir is the father of the wolves Sköll and Hati Hróðvitnisson, is a son of Loki, and is foretold to kill the god Odin during the events of Ragnarök, but will in turn be killed by Odin's son Víðarr. In the Prose Edda, additional information is given about Fenrir, including that, due to the gods' knowledge of prophecies foretelling great trouble from Fenrir and his rapid growth, the gods bound him, and as a result Fenrir bit off the right hand of the god Týr. Depictions of Fenrir have been identified on various objects, and scholarly theories have been proposed regarding Fenrir's relation to other canine beings in Norse mythology. Fenrir has been the subject of artistic depictions, and he appears in literature. Nidhoggr in Norse mythology is a creature that gnaws at the roots of the World Tree Yggdrasil. He lives beneath the roots of Yggdrasil and gnaws at them as they are the only thing that keeps it from the world. The squirrel Ratatoskr brings words of envy between Nidhoggr and the eagle Hresvelgr. The only person capable of controlling him is the goddess Hel. Its existence is the portend of the Ragnarok that signals the end of all. It is generally chaos aligned. Nidhogg appears as a late game enemy in Digital Devil Saga. Its first appearance is as the boss of the Blue configuration of the Brutes Base in Ajna. Upon entering the chamber, five Brutes members will transform into small Nidhoggr to start the battle. The middle Nidhoggr is the main boss and will try to consume the smaller ones to become larger. If all the smaller ones are killed, it will use Rage to summon another small one, which will either attack or use Reinforcements. The Wild Hunt is a European folk myth involving a ghostly or supernatural group of huntsmen passing in wild pursuit. The hunters may be either elves or fairies or the dead, and the leader of the hunt is often a named figure associated with Woden, but may variously be a historical or legendary figure like Theodoric the Great, the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag, the Welsh psychopomp Gwyn ap Nudd, biblical figures such as Herod, Cain, Gabriel or the Devil, or an unidentified lost soul or spirit either male or female. Seeing the Wild Hunt was thought to presage some catastrophe such as war or plague, or at best the death of the one who witnessed it. Mortals getting in the path of or following the Hunt could be kidnapped and brought to the land of the dead. A girl who saw Wild Edric's Ride was warned by her father to put her apron over her head to avoid the sight. Others believed that people's spirits could be pulled away during their sleep to join the cavalcade. In iva, in the mission where an epidemic is in mikado, wild hunt is seen as a demon being used by the demonized mikadoites. Strangely, the demon evolves into abbadon. It is chaos aligned. Berserkers were Norse warriors who are reported in the Old Norse literature to have fought in a nearly uncontrollable, trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the English word berserk. Berserkers are attested in numerous Old Norse sources. Most historians believe that berserkers worked themselves into a rage before battle, but some think that they might have consumed drugged foods. There are a few who suggest that they were just raging madmen. Although the level of truth to these stories is unknown. The Úlfhéðnar, mentioned in the Vatnsdæla saga, Haraldskvæði, and the Völsunga saga, were said to wear the pelt of a wolf when they entered battle. Úlfhéðnar are sometimes described as Odin's special warriors, with the pelt from a wolf and a spear as distinguishing features. In-game they show up as chaos demons in keeping with this depiction. Eschatology Ragnarok is the Norse apocalypse story. It is not only the doom of man but also the end of the Gods and Goddesses. It will be the final battle between the Aesir and Giants. The battle will take place on the plains called Vigrid. It is here that the mighty Midgard serpent will be emerging from the sea, while it splashes its tail and sprays poison in all directions, causing huge waves crashing towards the land. Meanwhile, the fire giant Surtr will set Asgard (the home of the Gods and Goddesses) and the rainbow bridge Bifrost on fire. The Fenrir wolf will break free of his chains and spread death and destruction. The sun and the moon will be swallowed by the wolves Sköll and Hati, and even the world tree Yggdrasil will shake the ground. Odin and the Fenrir wolf will fight each other to the death And Loki will turn on the Aesir, and fight Heimdall, and they will kill each other. Tyr will fight the watchdog “Garm” that guards the gates of Hel, will also kill each other. Thor will fight the Midgard Serpent and kill it, but he will die of the poisonous wounds left behind by the Midgard Serpent. Freyr will be killed by the fire giant named Surtr. Finally, Surtr will set all the nine worlds on fire and everything sinks into the boiling sea. There is nothing the Gods can do to prevent Ragnarok. Odin’s only comfort is that he can predict that Ragnarok, will not be the end of the world. Everyone will die save for two humans, and perhaps a few gods. Balder will be ressurected. There are different theories as to whether ragnarok was part of norse myth before christianization or as to whether its meant to imply a cyclical world or a linear one. Symbols The valknut is a symbol consisting of three interlocked triangles. It appears on a variety of objects from the archaeological record of the ancient Germanic peoples. The compound noun valknut is from the modern era. The term used for the symbol during its historical employment is unknown. Scholars have proposed a variety of explanations for the symbol, sometimes associating it with the god Odin, and it has been compared to the three-horned symbol found on the 9th-century Snoldelev Stone, with which it may be related. In iva it is seen being used as a symbol by odin when he appears in a room to ask you to do something for him. The hammer of thor. The hammer of thor (known as mjolnir) is often used as a religious symbol, and had been done so since the times the norse religion was practiced. Interestingly, the symbol was often conflated with the christian cross after coming in contact with christianity, for a variety of reasons. In-game it is ambiguous what side to tie it to, since while thor shows up in the law side in SMTI, he tends to move around from side to side, often later on showing up as a chaos demon, or working for yosuga. So what side this is associated with depends strongly on the game. Interestingly, there is also an example from history where thor's hammer was conflated with the cross. This was done for various reasons, such as making the religion seem more palatable from either side either from the norse trying to seem compatible with christianity, or for christians trying to make conversion easier. After christianity started to take over there was examples where thor's hammer was attempted to be disguised as a cross. This may give some additional context for why thor is seen working with the law side in SMTI. To show the absorbtion of his myths into a christian context and paradigm. Depicting themselves as in tune with christian existence in order for their practices to survive.